Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Athletic Bilbao

Real Madrid have a chance to maintain their impressive La Liga form when they welcome Athletic Bilbao to the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening.

Los Blancos' title hopes may be hanging by a thread, but they have collected 34 points from the last 42 on offer to at least remain in the hunt for second place.

Key to Madrid's upturn in fortunes in the second half of the season has been the form of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored in 11 successive matches in all competitions.

After being left out of the squad for the 2-1 win over Malaga last time out, Ronaldo is expected to be restored to the side to face Bilbao in midweek.

Here, Sports Mole looks at the Portuguese forward's record against Los Leones in previous encounters.

All 17 of Ronaldo's past meetings with Bilbao have come in the Spanish top flight, dating back to his first taste of this fixture in January 2010 - one of only two defeats suffered, as his side went down 1-0 at San Mames.

The 33-year-old has averaged a goal a game since then, scoring in nine of the past 16 matches in a run that includes a couple of hat-tricks and three braces.

Ronaldo has scored in just one of the last six encounters, though, netting twice in a 4-2 win for his side in February 2016, and was left particularly frustrated in the reverse match this term as Madrid failed to find a way through in a goalless draw.